Abysmal Skies
by AmaraYDoYouEvenCare
Summary: Elena has it all, wonderful friends, an amazing and sweet fiance, and she just got her dream job. Everything's perfect... or so it seems. What happens when someone comes into her life and tries to challenge everything that she's ever believed in life. Will she push him away or fall deep into the sky to be consumed by him. [Damon S.] [Elena G.] DELENA (also other ships are involved)
1. Life as you know it

Abysmal Skies

**Hey, before we delve into my very first story, I'd like to address that there will be strong language, smut, and rather serious topics. I DO NOT own Vampire Diaries, and all the characters and some concepts belong to their respective creators. **

Why is it called 'falling in love', from what I've experienced these past few months is that love feels more like you're soaring, never to touch land every again, because all of this love consumes you to the point of no return. I stop writing in my journal to realize that I have been crying this whole time. I attempt to rub the tear away, but as soon as they're gone, more appear. Ironic. That's the word I'd use to describe my whole life. This everlasting irony everyday brings me.

-6 months earlier -

I glance at myself in the full body mirror, and I feel the air in my lungs disappear. This was it. This what the cheesy moment in every rom-com. The pure white silk draped elegantly on my figure, it was tight on the upper body with a dipped neckline. The dress showed off my slim waist, which on the dress was a gold belt that was designed to look like flowered vines. The lower part of the dress was smooth, and slightly fanned out at the ends, but not too much to be tacky. The back of the dress, had an open back that had on the edges of the opening was a beautiful lace design that reminded me of a snowflake. The dress had long sleeves, and towards the end of the sleeves was a subtle fanned out lace design that was gorgeous. This was it. This is the dress that I'm walking down the aisle in. This was the gown that I'd mary Flinnigan Kelsey in. I tell the woman who is assisting me at the boutique that I'd like to order this dress. She records my measurements and as I fill out the paperwork I can't help the bright smile that falls upon my face. It's going to be less than 6 months until the big day, and I totally nailed my interview for 'Editor's S'. I did have all of the necessary requirements and more. Major in Business and English, and Minors in Communications and Ecomers. All of those college degrees and I'm only 21 (I applied for a program with my fiance that allowed us to take college courses 2 years early). I checked my phone to see what time it was and I saw, '10:34'. I'm meeting up with Bonnie and Caroline, my two best friends since high school, at 11:00 sharp at our go to a bakery that's not too far from where I'm at now, so I begin walking. I arrive at the bakery at 10:51, and I patiently wait outside for Bonnie and Caroline. Unsurprisingly Bonnie came first, her brown hair was curled and looked nice against her chocolate colored skin. She also wore a beautiful yellow dress with white flats as shoes. Her brown eyes met mine and she smiled at me.

"Hey, 'Lena!" She greets me, before throwing her arms around me and giving me a warm hug. I hug her back with the same amount of enthusiasm that she put in and smile. Bonnie has been my friend since 1st grade, and we've been inseparable since.

"Hey, Bonnie!" It's so good to see you! How was Amstradam?" I respond back after we break the hug. Bonnie has been at Amsterdam for a whole year since she's an aspiring Linguistic. She's working to get a Major in Dutch and German, and went to college at Middlebury.

"It was amazing! The people there were very polite, and everyone used bikes to go everywhere. Most importantly the history there is fascinating, and the towns are charming." Bonnie replies with a bright gleam in her eyes, and I can tell she loved being there.

"That's awesome, will you be going back to Amstradam, or are you staying here?" I ask.

"I'll be staying here until I receive my Masters degrees, and then I guess I'll see what I can do." She shrugs, a little disappointment in her eyes. I want to change the subject, but I don't know what to say. Just then, I see Caroline come into my vision and smile. Her golden hair was put into an elegant bun, her makeup was light, but still beautiful at the same time, and she wore white shorts with a light blue tank top. I've known Caroline almost as long as I've known Bonnie. We got introduced to each other through Bonnie when I was in second grade, however Bonnie and Caroline have known eachother since Kindergarten. 'Awesome, this'll make, Bonnie happy.'

"Hey, Bonnie, Care' is here!" I say enthusiastically, and Bonnie turns to where Caroline is at with a smile. We both run up to her and hug her.

"Caroline, I've missed you!" Bonnie says happily.

"Me too, oh my gosh, it's so good to see you!" Caroline replies excitedly. We all break the hug and smile brightly at each other. "When do you think it was the last time we all met up together?" Caroline asks.

"Too long, I missed you both so much, if only you guys came with the Amsterdam package, then I'd have no regrets." Bonnie jokes around, and we all laugh. Gosh, I'd missed this. Yes, I still had Caroline, Flin, and all my other friends, but I missed this 3 way meet up with Bonnie and Caroline.

"I feel like we should head inside, and talk more once we get seated. Is that okay with you guys?" I ask sweetly at them.

"More than okay, just before this I spent hours shopping. I'll talk about it more once we get seated though." Caroline says, and we head into the cafe. The waitress approaches us and seats us outside . The table is made from some type of wood painted white with beautiful carvings on it, and the chairs are made with that same painted, and carved wood, only they also have soft yellow cushions on the top of the seats. We sit down and our waitress hands us all white and blue menus, then she introduces herself cheerfully and informs us that she'll be coming back later to order our drinks. She leaves, and we get ourselves situated.

As I look at my menu I ask, "What are you both planning on having to drink?"

"I'm thinking the momosa, what about you, Bonnie?" Caroline responds.

"I kinda want a margarita, but I don't know what kind yet." Bonnie says, and I start laughing. "What?" Bonnie aks confusedly, which makes me laugh even harder.

"Bonnie, I know Amstradam had a legal drinking age of 18, but remember America it's 21 and your still 20." I giggle out and Bonnie groans.

"Oh lord, take me back to Amstradam." She groans out frustratedly, and Caroline and I laugh.

"Oh, Caroline. You said you went shopping earlier, what was that about?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, so you know my new boyfriend Stefan?" Caroline asks and I simply nod in affirmation wanting her to continue and Bonnie does the same motions as me, clearly just as curious as I am for her to continue. "He's wanting me to meet his family next Friday, and I'm just so excited because I just like him so much!" Caroline says excitedly and I smile at her.

"Oh, speaking of love, how are you and Flin doing, 'Lena?" Bonnie asks with a soft smile on her face.

"Amazing, I couldn't imagine getting married to any other man." I say dreamily. Flin was it for me. I was sure of it, just him smile was enough to power me throughout the day.

"That's awesome, Elena. I'm so happy that you all have someone there for you." Bonnie says sweetly.

"Ohhh, speaking of love…" Caroline drags suggestively.

"Care', no!" Bonnie warns.

"Oh, come on, there must me some cute guys in, Amsterdam." Caroline says enthusiastically. And Bonnie sighs.

"No, there isn't anyone that I like there." She replies simply.

"Awww, you've never dated anyone before it seems." Caroline says a bit disappointedly.

"Yeah, and there's a reason for that. I just want to wait for the perfect man for me." Bonnie replies a bit more happily.

"How do you know if anyone of those men, aren't the ones for you if you don't even talk to them." Caroline tries to convince Bonnie and she just simple shakes her head 'no'. The waitress comes over and takes out drink and food orders. When she leaves, Bonnie is just sitting there with her arms crossed in front of her, not even looking at any of us. 'Oh great, what a wonderful way to start off her coming back home.' I hear caroline sigh before she says, "Look, I know that talking about this makes you uncomfortable, and I'm sorry for pushing you. I just want you to be happy." Carolie says and Bonnie finally relaxes and turns toward her.

"I understand, but I'm still very young, and I just need you to understand that I don't want to waste my time with anyone that I don't see myself ending up with." Bonnie replies seriously.

"I understand, Bonnie. We are both here for you, okay?" I ask her with a soft smile plastered on my face.

"Okay." She replies to me question and the tension in the room is eased.

"Oh, about when I meet Stefan's family I'm allowed to bring a person with me. My mom is working that night, so I was meaning to ask one of you." Caroline says.

"I wish I could, but I have two important test, one Friday and one Saturday, which I would need to study for." Bonnie says and Caroline nods.

"That's okay, Bonnie. I guess that means you're coming with me!" Caroline says excitedly.

"Yeah, I don't have anything that Friday, and for my new job I have Saturday's and Sunday's off." I say and Caroline's and Bonnie's eyes go wide.

"New job?!" They both question in unison and I giggle at their shock.

"Yeah, I told you both I'd be applying to, 'Editors S', earlier didn't I?" I ask confusedly.

"Yeah, but you didn't tell us that you made the job." Bonnie says happily.

"Yeah, that's awesome, this is such great news!" Caroline replies and I smile. Life has been too kind to me these past few years, and I was very content with everything. Soon, the food and drinks arrive and we all dig into our wonderful meals. In a little under an hour we have all cleared out plates except for Caroline who is taking her leftovers home with her, I hug and say goodbye to both of them, and walk back to my car which is by the boutique. I enter the car and make my way back to Flin and I's apartment. When I arrive I go into the parking garage and soon enter the elevator. All the options are, 'B4, B3 (my current level), B2, B1, Lobby, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. I press the button that says '3' on it, and in about 2 minutes the elevator reaches me. When I reach the 3rd floor I find out apartment and open it. The apartment is quite charming with a wonderful kitchen, then in the top right corner is the kitchen table, to the top left is the living room with a comfy grey couch and a soft white rug. There is also a TV and otomon/ footrest in the center of the living room. I smile as I see Flin sitting on the couch watching TV. He has nice tan skin, with auburn colored hair, his eyes are light brown, and he is definitely a very handsome man.

"Hey, Babe." I say sweetly and his attention is turned towards me. He turns to me and smile brightly upon seeing me. He gets and and wraps his strong arms around me.

"Hey, baby, how are you?" He asks, before kissing me. I smile as he kisses me.

We we break I say, "It was going great before, but now that I see you, it's amazing." I say with a giggle and he chuckles too kissing me once more. "Oh, I was meaning to ask you, how did your interview with, 'Anton Arts' go?" I asked curiously.

"Honestly, not that well. I don't want to get too into it, but in a gist they already had someone that they were set with, they just wanted to see me to solidify their choice." Flin shrugs.

"They told you that?" I asked a bit taken aback by the company's rudeness.

"No, not directly. The door to the interview was pretty thin, and I heard then talking after I left." Flin says slightly glum and I feel sad for him as well.

"Oh, I'm sorry hunny, do you still want to go out to help me feel better?" I offer sweetly.

"No, since I didn't get the job, I have to continue with the freelancing gigs to help earn my keep, but we can cook dinner together later, is that alright?" He asks.

"Yeah, that's awesome sweety. I'll just check my emails and plan for my first day tomorrow." I say and he nods with a smile on his face. Flin is an inspiring artist who has a major in Art, and a minor in Business. He does freelancing gig for people online, but he definitely is wanting a nice job instead. I sigh and headover to the desk. I quickly check my emails, however nothing is important other than when I double check the time I must be at work which is at 7:00 A.M. tomorrow. A couple days ago I received my badge and key and card for the office. I smile, 'this office job should be pretty fun actually', I feel this way for more than one reason. I've always liked the idea of being an assistant. I still had the pride of being the highest level assistant, but it didn't come with as much stress as being say, a VP or President. The second reason is that I've always loved literature and writing, and while working here I get discounts and sneak peeks into some of the books that they edit and publish. I go up from the desk, since Flin needs it for his freelancing, and I head over to the couch. I watch TV for awhile until I start to feel hungry. I make a nice pasta dish with green beans on the side and call Flin to eat with me. After that the evening passes pretty quickly. Once FLin is done with work, he massages my feet as we watch a movie together, and when I start to feel pretty tired I get ready for bed. First I put on light blue fuzzy shorts and a white camesal. Then I do my nightly skin care routine, brush my teeth, and my chocolate colored hair, and head over to our bed. I kiss Flin goodnight, who also did his nightly routine, and we snuggle together before drifting off to sleep. Little did I know, that soon this comfort and contentedness would change, and oh how my whole world would change.


	2. Who's the Boss?

Abysmal Skies

Who's the Boss?:

I awaken to the sound of the alarm that I set last night to wake me up at 5:30 A.M. I begin to move so I could get ready, but I feel the arms that were wrapped around my waist tightened and I giggle. "Flin, I have to go to work." I say sweetly.

"No…" He groans groggily, not letting go. He then starts to kiss up the side of my neck and I giggle again.

"Baby, I have to make a good first impression for my first day." I say and I hear him sigh behind me.

"Can I at least get a kiss?" He asks, loosening his grip around me so I can turn towards him. I kissed him sweetly on the lips and pulled away with a smile. "One more." He says and I laugh.

"Greedy." I tease with a laugh.

"You know it." He says leaning in to kiss me again and I kiss him back. This time when I pull away I exit the bed. I head into the bathroom, when I look at myself in the mirror I nearly burst out laughing. How could Flin even believe I was attractive in the morning? My hair was a hornets nest, I looked as if I haven't slept in 14 days, and my clothes were all wrinkled and partially sweaty. Yup, I'm definitely in need of a shower. I shed my clothes and hop into the shower feeling the warmth wake me up and relax me. I grab the shampoo that makes my hair smell faintly of strawberries, then I ass conditioner, and lastly I apply the body wash that has a subtle smell of vanilla. Even though I shaved yesterday, my legs were growing a bit more, so I quickly shave them once more and enjoy the warm water for one last minute, before exiting the shower. I check my phone to see the time, and it's 5:47. I quickly dry off and grab the outfit that I put on the rack in the bathroom. I first put on the professional black skirt, and then a comfy red sweater. I know women usually do their makeup first, but I actually prefer makeup last. I do a light makeup look with just some concealer, maskera, a bit of eyeshadow, blush, lip gloss, and a spritz of setting spray to lock it all in for the day. Now, when I check the time again it's 6:05. I quickly head out into the kitchen and see Flin with a bag in his hands.

"Made you lunch for your first day." He says with a smile, and I smile back at him and feel my heart warm at the sweet gesture.

"Aww, thanks baby. That's so sweet of you." I say before taking the bag, giving him a kiss in thanks, and putting my lunch in my work bag along with a filled water bottle, my laptop, a journal, a note taker, pens, pencils, a highlighter, a mouse, and lastly a pair of headphones. It was 6:15 now, and I had 10 more minutes until I had to go to my car and leave for work. I approach Flin who is working at the desk at a photoshopping gig. I wrap my arms around him and ask, "Guess who?"

He chuckled and guesses, "Oh… I don't know. Could it be the most beautiful woman in existance who I have the pleasure to call my wife in a couple months." He says and I feel my heart turn into a puddle of goo.

"No, it's the woman who has the most kind, creative, and hard working man as her fiance." I flirt back and kiss him on the cheek.

"Mmm, when do you have to go?" He asks.

"In a couple of minutes. I just wanted to say goodbye before I left." I say brightly.

"Alright," He says as he turns to me, "Goodbye, baby."

I kiss him before replying, "Bye." Then, I grab my work bag, and place my phone in the front pocket (Where the headphones are located as well). After that, I head out of my apartment, lock the door, and head to the elevator. I press the button, '3B', and enter my car. Once inside, I head over to 'Editors S', and park my car in an open spot. I put the badge around my neck, and also move my key and card to where there is easy access. I then exit my car and head for the building. I try to open the door, but it is locking. It was weird, but I just assumed that someone would show up soon to help me. I find a bench by the door and sit, then I remember that I still had a wedding magazine in my bag and decide to take it out and read it.

15 minutes later I hear someone approach me and hear a guy say, "You're here early." I look up to see who is talking to me, and even I'm a bit taken aback. His raven colored hair is tousled, his skin is radiant, his build is athletic (which is surprising for a business man), and the most stunning of his features is his bright blue eyes.

"W-what?" I say forgetting what he has said.

He chuckles and says, " I said, you're here early, and I've never seen you around."

I clear my throat and compose myself, as an engaged woman I shouldn't be acting this way. "Sorry, I'm new, and I got an email saying to be here at 7:00." I explain to the best of my ability. It was 6:50 right now.

"No, that must have been a mistake, the work day starts at 8:00." He replies and now everything makes sense.

"Oh…" I say in understanding.

"It's quite alright… is your mother or friend getting married?" He asks sitting down next to me.

"What?" I ask a bit confused, and he chuckles once more.

"I see someone's nervous, I was just asking who you know is getting married." He says, and I close the magazine.

"I'm getting married." I say showing him my ring and he looks surprised.

"Woah, aren't you a little young." He says shock evident in his voice.

"That isn't your place to tell me." I say angrily. Who does this man think he is.

He just shrugs and gets I scoff in understanding. "What?" He asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Figures you'd be the arrogant douche type." I say angrily, I'm normally not the type of person to be this aggressive to someone, but I guess since he's someone I find physically attractive I have to show that I'm a loyal fiance that isn't easily pushed around by fellow employees. Just then a smile on his face and he starts laughing. He's laughing at being insulted!? Who is this man?!

"Wow, you sound like you got me all figured out miss…" He draws since he dousn;t know my name.

"Gilbert." I answer reluctantly, and then him smile goes even wider.

"How ironic that'd I meet you here Miss. GIlbert." He laughs out.

"What do you mean?" I ask now more confused than angry.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet my assistant early, allow me to introduce myself, I'm the founder and CEO, Damon Salvatore." He addresses and my eyes go wide and my stomach drops.

"O-oh, sir I'm s-sorry I didn't know it was y-you." I stuttered nervously. I just insulted my boss! Gosh, why couldn't I have kept my cool!

"No, no, no, it's refreshing to have someone speak to you honestly. Please, if you have something to say to me, please be honest." He says with a chuckle and I lower my head in embarrassment. "Really, Miss. Gilbert, it's fine, now I should get to opening these doors, before more people start to show up." I nod, and follow him inside after he opens the doors. I'm in awe of the beauty of this building.

"Wow." I whisper under my breath.

"Glad you like it." Damon says smugly, and I feel that frustration of his arrogance in me again, but I don't want another outburst so I compose myself.

"I was just admiring the craftsmanship, sir." I say and his smile fades.

"Oh, come on. I told you I wanted you to be honest with what you want to say to me." he says disappointed.

"I don't understand why you'd want me to be sour towards you." I say confusedly.

"It's just, everyone treats me so formally here, sometimes I just want to be treated like a normal person." He says and suddenly I understand.

"Okay, so you just want me to treat you like a normal person… even if it's me insulting you?" I ask.

"Especially if it's that. You got a lot of fire in you, you fiance is a very lucky guy." Damon says starting to walk away. Just then I fell a wave of anger go through me...was he just flirting with me?

"You can't talk to me that way." I say after him.

"Hm?" He asked confused.

"You can't… flirt with me. I'm engaged." I say simply.

He smirks and walks up to me, "I'm very well aware, but miss. Gilbert, I was just trying to be polite, however if you want me to flirt, I'm more than willing. Oh, and also all of your work assignments are on your computer at your desk. Complete the tasks, and also I need a printed sheet of the profits from our newest business partnership. Got that?" He asks rudely and I grit my teeth at him practically stomping on me and putting me in my place.

"Yes." I spit out at him.

"Good. Do I need to lead you to your office?" He asks me and I feel even more angry.

"I'm not a kid, I can find my own way." I say and push past him to the elevator. The options were, 'B1, 1 (current floor), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. I press '10' since my office is by Damon's, and all high officials and their assistants. It takes about a minute to get up there and make my way to the office. I get situated at desk and sit down in the large white office chair. I sigh and run my temples. 'Gosh how did I manage to get one of the most insatiable people as my boss?' I then log into my computer and begin working on my assignments. After a long time of working on my assignments, and also having lunch in between. Finally I finish, and I also remember that I have to print the profits from the new business partnership, so I quickly print the paper out an approach Damon's office. I hesitate before knocking, but end up talking myself into it since I need to do this by the end of the day.

I knock softly, and hear a muffled version of his voice say, "Come in." I enter the room and take in my surroundings. It's not tacky or douchy as I predicted his office to be, actually it was quite classy and modern. The desk was in front of a giant window that covered the whole wall. The desk was black with an office chair and two seats facing the office chair for guest. There were several stylish art pieces on the walls, and there was a sleek rug in the room as well. I find Damon sitting in the office chair currently on his computer. He looks up to me with an eyebrow raised.

"Oh, uh I have the printed information of the new business partnership profits." I say walking over to his and handing the papers over, our hands brush slightly as I hand them, and I feel my cheeks burn. Once the I've handed the paper over I glance up at Damon who I can now realize that he intentionally touched our hands by the smug look on his face. I scrunch my face up in disgust and stop off at the door. Before leaving I aks bitterly, "Do I need to do anything else, sir?"

He chuckles before responding, "Yeah, I need you to cancel my 12:00 P.M appointment, because I'm having lunch with some business partners. Oh, and please do call me, Damon." I turn around just in time to see him wink, and rage floods me.

Rather than to burst and give him the reaction he wants from me I smirk back and respond, "Goodbye, Mr. Salvatore." I turn and leave feeling a big smug for standing up to him. I head to my desk, and cancel the 12:00 A.M meeting, and after that I pack up my items and head out of the building. I find my car and once I enter it, I head back to my apartment. When I arrive it's 7:30 P.M and I'm beyond tired. I go to my floor and enter my apartment. Flin is at the kitchen table eating dinner and once he sees me, he gets up.

"Hey, baby. How was your first day of work?" he asks kindly, while approaching me.

"Tiring, I actually think I'm going to head to bed early, is that okay?" I ask.

"I made dinner, do you think that you could go to sleep after." He insists.

"No, I just want to pass out right now." I say groggily.

"C'mon baby, just a bit longer for me?" he asks and I sigh a bit frustrated.

"I don't want to snap at you, Flin. Please can I go to bed." I insist a bit frustrated and he backs off.

"Alright." He says in an obvious disappointed voice, but I can't find myself to care right now with being so tired.

"Goodnight." I say, and I don't hear him respond, so I go into the bedroom, get changed, and do my nightly routine before falling asleep in the cotton covers. The thing that I think about before falling asleep subconsciously are piercing blue eyes.


	3. Best Friend Banter

Abysmal Skies

Chapter 3:Best Friend Banter

**Before this chapter begins I just want to say I'm sorry for not being able to post sooner than I expected too, I've been working very hard and it's not easy to find time in my schedule**

I take a deep breath in as I sit in my car and shut the car door. I had just finished a day of hard work, and even Damon was too busy to annoy me. At least I had something to look forward to today, which was the fact that first I'd be dress shopping with Caroline for Friday, and next I'd be hanging out with Bonnie at night. I was so excited to be hanging around them , because it's rare that I even get to relax with my friends now a days. A light smile spreads across my face just thinking about them, and I start my car to head to the outdoor mall Caroline wanted to meet at. I drive for a bit and arrive at the mall. Bonnie said she's meet me at the park, which was in the center of the mall, so I make my way over to the park. When I arrive, I see Caroline sitting on a light wooden bench nestled between a beautiful array of flowers. I smile and head over to her.

"Hey, Care'!" I say excitedly with a bright smile. She looks up from the book that she was reading and replicates the smile.

"'Lena, oh my gosh! I've been waiting for almost ten minutes." Caroline says giving me a big hug.

I hug her back and say, "Yeah, I know, and I'm sorry. Work has been very stressful. Who would know 'Ediors S' has a lot of books to review and publish, meetings to set up, and events to plan."

"Aww, I'm sorry, 'Lena. I know what'll make you feel better though.." Caroline drags with a smile.

"What?" I asked amusedly knowing exactly what she'll say.

"Dress Shopping!" She says enthusiastically and I burst out laughing.

"You know me so well." I say while laughing.

"I know," she giggles, "Now let's go! I can't wait another second!" She shouts before dragging me to the first store. In thirty minutes we've been to about 3 stores, but none of them had any dresses that we've loved. Just then I remember something and smile.

"Hey, Care', I may know what dress would be perfect for you." I say and Caroline turns to me.

"You do?" She asks a bit confusedly.

"Yeah, I was shopping here earlier when I had to get a dress for an interview, and when I was at a store I saw a dress that I just knew you'd love." I say and Caroline's eyes light up.

"Well, lead the way. I can't wait to see what dress you have in store for me." She replies happily. I lead her to a store called, 'Abysmal'.

"Abysmal?" Caroline asks.

"I think the meaning they're going for was, 'very deep or intense'.

"Oh, so a sentence I could use is, 'Stefan and I have an abysmal love'." She laughs giddily.

"Yeah, I guess I never thought of love as abysmal." I say.

"What do you see it as then?" Caroline asks curiously.

"More like a thousand twinkling lights." I respond honestly.

"Yeah, that works too, but abysmal sounds cooler." She laughs and I giggle too. We then head into the store and it doesn't take long for me to see the dress I though care would love. It was Caroline's favorite color of a soft oceanic blue, the sparkles on it were heavy at the stop and got more spread out as it fanned the bottom, and it was absolutely breathtaking. I then hear footsteps behind me and a gasp escape Caroline. "Oh my gosh...Elena...this is beautiful." Caroline says observing the dress.

"Do you wanna try it on?" I ask.

"Yeah, but after I show you the dress I found for you." Caroline says picking up her size of dress, and lead me over to the dress that she thought I would love, and it was my turn to be speechless. This dress was a beautiful deep red shade, and the skirt was sheer and looked like soft elegant curls. The top was tight with a dipped neckline, and it was stunning.

"Wow, 'Care. This is amazing!" I say stepping over to the dress and picking up the dress.

"I know right, now let's go try them on, however you can go after me so we can judge how we look." Caroline suggest and I nod. She enters the dressing room and I'm sitting on a bench with my dress. It takes about 5 minutes until caroline comes out and my jaw drops. The color of this dress makes her skin look radiant and it's definitely flattering for her figure. I look up and see Caroline with one of the biggest smiles I've ever seen her in.

"Caroline, you look amazing." I gawk, and she laughs.

"I know, this is the most beautiful dress I've ever put on, thank you, Elena." She says and I can almost see tears in her eyes.

"Oh my gosh, Care'! Don't cry." I say getting up to console my friend.

"No, it's all happy tears...now I can't wait to see how beautiful you look." She says and I look back at my dress with a smile.

"Okay." I say before entering the dressing room and changing into my dress. When I look in the mirror I almost gasp. This dress looks amazing. It for my slim figure perfectly, and the sheer fabric that was slightly curled as my skirt was a gorgeous accent. I step out of the room, and Caroline doesn't even try to hide her astonishment.

"Oh, 'Lena. This is gorgeous." Caroline says before covering her mouth with her hand.

"Thank you, Care'. I really love it." I say happily.

"You ready to buy them?" She asks excitedly and I nod. We head over to buy the dresses, and after that Caroline and I say goodbye. Then I headed to my car and start driving to Bonnie's house. We planned to have dinner there and maybe watch a movie before I retire back to my house. I'm pretty excited to spend one on one time with her, because she's been gone for such a long time. I smile and continue to drive over to her house, which she inherited from her grandmother. I exit my car and knock on the oak wood door. Soon it opens to Bonnie with a big smile.

"Hey!" She says happily wrapping me in a sweet hug.

"Hey back." I respond, hugging her back. When we break the hug, we enter the home and I can already smell Bonnie's amazing cooking from a while away. 'What's on the menu?" I ask curiously while my mouth waters.

"Well, since you're a vegetarian, I wanted to make you something special, so I made some veggie chilli, rice, and some steamed broccoli." Bonnie says and I smile at her thoughtfulness.

"Thank you, Bonnie. You're so sweet." I say sweetly.

"Aww, anything for you, 'Lena." Bonnie replies, and we both head over to the kitchen to fill our plates with Bonnie's amazing cooking. Then we both head over to the kitchen table to eat. I take a bite of the chilli and almost moan of the taste alone.

"This is so good, Bonnie." I exclaim in awe and Bonnie giggles.

"Thanks, I just tweaked my family recipe so it fit your diet." Bonnie replies kindly.

"What would I do without you?" I ask.

"You'd probably be in a ditch, drunk and alone." Bonnie jokes and I laugh.

"Jerk." I say while laughing. We eat for a but until I ask, "Do you like coming back to your home?"

"Yeah, but I miss Amsterdam." Bonnie admits finishing the food on her plate.

"Is my company that bad?" I joke before taking the last bite off my own plate.

"No! No. No. I just love it there-" Bonnie says frantically and I cut her off.

"Bonnie, I was just teasing. I know you love it there." I say reassuringly and I see Bonnie relax.

"Yeah, if it wasn't for you, or Care', or-" Bonnie cuts off, "Nevermind."

"Okay." I say a bit suspiciously, but I decide not to press it, because I don't want to stress Bonnie out.

"Wanna watch a Movie?" Bonnie asks enthusiastically.

"Yeah." I agree heading over to the couch with her. We talk about how it's been for the past year, and my progress on the wedding. Also about how her college degree is doing. Basically things that we haven't been able to talk about face to face. I really have missed being around Bonnie and her sweet presence. After watching Sinister and Sinister 2 I check the time and my eyes widen. It's almost midnight, and I know Flin would be worried sick right now. "Hey, Bonnie. I kinda lost track of time, I really enjoyed hanging out with you." I say sweetly before giving her a hug.

"Me too, Goodnight." She replies as I grab my stuff.

"Goodnight." I say back before leaving her house and heading into my car. I get inside and head to my apartment. When I enter it, I see Flin pacing and he looks at me.

"Where have you been?" Flin asks worriedly.

"Sorry, I lost track of time at Bonnie's house." I respond.

I see Flin relax a bit and he looks at the bag in my hands. "Did you buy something?" He asks.

"Oh, yeah. I bought a dress for the party Caroline and I are going to on Friday." I say excitedly. I remember how amazing the dress looked and I smile brightly.

"You're going to a party on Friday?" Flin asks.

"Yeah, sorry, I should've told you." I say a bit guiltily.

"Yeah, I was planning on doing something with you Friday night." Flin admits.

"Oh, baby. I'm sorry. We'll have a lot of time for that though. After all, we are getting married in about 6 months." I say happily and he smiles.

"That does sound nice, huh." He says before kissing me. I kiss him back softly and smile. "Anyway, how much did the dress cost?" He asks curiously.

"Only $110." I shrug. We have a lot in our savings, so it didn't seem like much.

"$110?!" Flin exclaims backing away from me.

"What's the big issue?" I ask confusedly.

"That's a lot of money, Elena, and I thought we were saving for a house!" He shouts and I'm taken aback.

"Baby, we have plenty of time for that, and plus I'm working. I don't know why you're getting so pent up." I say about to touch his shoulder to reassure him, but he backs away.

"Still, I thought you'd be more mature with what you spend our money on." He says.

"Are you kidding me, can I not spend money on something that makes me feel good?!" It's my turn to shout. He is being completely unreasonable.

His expression softens and he says, "Elena, baby. That's not what I meant-"

"No, it's fine. I don't want to continue this. I just want to go to bed." I say before heading in my room. I don't like fighting with him, but right now I'm really frustrated with how he acted over me buying a dress. I got ready for bed and headed in. Soon I drifted off to sleep, only this time I saw the whole face of the one and only Damon Salvatore, rather than just his eyes. How odd.

**Author's Note: Thank you all so much for reading this chapter, I also love reviews, and if you have any suggestions of what you want to see in future chapters, please review! Once again I'm sorry that I took longer than expected to upload, and I appreciate all of my loyal followers patience. I also have decided that at the end of every chapter I give away the title of the next chapter as a clue, so the next chapter will be called, 'As You Lay There'. **


	4. As you Lay There

Abysmal Skies

Chapter 4: As You Lay There

**Once again thank you for the support, I'm so ecstatic to be writing for all you wonderful people. Also please review, because I love seeing how you all are enjoying the fanfiction! I love you all, and enjoy this chapter!**

This weeks actually flew by rather quickly. When I woke up after Flin and I fought he apologized to me, and I could tell he was sincere so I forgave him. Work has been a bit easier, Damon still is an ass, and work is still hard, but it's become more manageable. I actually love my job though. It's hard, but I get to have sneak peaks of all the amazing novels before they're released, which has been immensely enjoyable. Caroline and Bonnie are always there for me whenever I need someone to talk to, and I have definitely been taking advantage of their presence. As the day of the party Caroline and I are going to drew closer, I've become more and more anxious. All that I knew about this party was that it was formal, and Caroline is super excited to see Stefan there. Caroline has had her fair share of boyfriends, but none of them make her as happy as Stefan does, so I'm very supportive of their relationship. Bonnie has been relatively happy unless she's in a time where she misses Amsterdam. It makes me sad to see her like that, and I try yo show her that by giving her my time. I even invited Caroline and Bonnie over to have dinner with Flin and I. And lastly Flin has been wonderful ever since our fight. He's always been supportive of me and I appreciate that he lives with me, so I always have someone to be around. For some reason however Damon has been appearing in my dreams, although it's just been his face, and nothing else. I have no idea what it means, and frankly I don't care that much. And here I am, Friday at 5:30 getting ready for the party. I have my beautiful red dress on with matching red heels, my hair is in an elegant braided bun, and my makeup is a soft smokey eye, with some soft blush on top of some concealer, lip gloss, and maskera. I look over myself once more in the mirror and smile at the finished result. I looked amazing, and I slowly felt all of the anxiety I have been feeling these past few days drift away, just then I see Flin appear in the background of the body mirror.

His jaw drops as he sees me, and he says while in awe, "Wow, God damn, Elena you look stunning." My cheeks burn at his compliment and I can't help but smile.

"Why Thank you Flinnigan Kelesey. I am flattered by your compliment." I say in a british accent, trying to sound posh.

"Ah, formal 'Lena's coming out to play, I like it." He says wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing my jaw.

"Flin!" I giggle, "I have to go to the party, Caroline should be here any minute."

"We have a little time." Flin says about to continue, but a knock on our door stops him.

"You were saying?" I tease.

"Oh, shut up." He teases back before going into the main area to answer the door. I hear them talking before I exit the room and I see Caroline look at me with a bright smile.

"Elena, there you are! You look amazing!"

"Thank you!" I say brightly, and look at her. Her blonde hair is curled elegantly and draped across her shoulders, and the dress looks just as beautiful as the day she first wore it. "You look stunning as well." I say sweetly.

"Aww, thanks, 'Lena. Are you ready to go?" She asks.

"Yeah, bye Flin." I say.

"Bye, Beautiful." He says giving me one last kiss before I go with Caroline to her car. We listen to some music as we drive to the destination of the party. As we arrive to the destination I am completely speechless. The party destination looks like a fancy mansion.

"Oh my gosh, is this real?" I ask in awe and Caroline laughs.

"Yup, Stefan's family rented it, and apparently this is supposed to be a family get together, and Stefan considers me his family." Caroline says almost crying.

"Care', that's so amazing. He must really love you." I say kindly.

"Yeah, and I love him so much too. Thank you for being here with me, 'Lena." Caroline says wrapping her arms around me and pulling me into a tight hug.

"I'm always here for you, Care'." I say honestly, and as soon as Caroline regains her computer we agree to head inside. Despite what the outside beauty displayed, it didn't do the inside justice. The inside looked as what I imagined heaven to look like. The walls looked as if they were made from marble, and in the center was a giant gorgeous fountain. The ceilings were painting in a romanian style, and the crown molding was amazing. As I'm enjoying the building, Caroline leads me to somewhere. I look over and see her smile brightly. I look at what she's looking at and see a handsome man with light brown hair, fair skin, and hazel eyes, and he also seems to have a bright smile displayed across his face looking at Caroline. He then approaches us and stop in front of Caroline.

"May I say, you look remarkable." He says to Caroline and I can see her blush.

She giggles and responds, "Thank you, I would have to say the same for you."

He then looks over to me and asks, "Who is this you're with, sweetheart."

Caroline turns to me, as if broken from a trance and says, "Oh right, this is Elena. This friend I was telling you so much about!" Caroline replies enthusiastically.

"Pleasure to meet you, Elena." Stefan says sweetly.

"It's nice to meet you too, Stefan. I can tell you and Caroline and absolutely smitten with one another." I replied sweetly and Stefan smiles brightly turning back to Caroline.

"Absolutely, which brings me to ask, would you care to have this dance." Stefan says charmingly and Caroline looks to me excitedly, but waiting for my approval. When I gesture for her to go she smiles brightly.

"Why of course I would." she says giddily, and stefan pulls he off to the dance floor. I smile as I watch them go, they're very cute together, and I can't help but to feel happy. I then go around exploring the building, and talking to a few of the guest. Soon everyone is called for dinner, and everyone's places are marked. There is a total of three huge tables. The center table is called the main table where I assume the direct family sits, and the wings where the I guess more distant family members go. To my surprise I'm seated at the main table next to Caroline, and Caroline is next to Stefan. I take a seat, and soon Caroline and Stefan show up. "Hey, Elena. Are you enjoying yourself?" Caroline asks and I smile.

"Yes, it's extremely beautiful here." I say kindly.

"I know, I've been loving every single second here." Caroline says happily sitting down next to me. Soon this very formal and stern looking man comes up to the end of the table.

"Welcome, family and guest!" Everyone immediately gets quiet in his presence. " If you don't know me I am Guispee Salvatore, proud father to my two boys, Stefan." He gestures to Stefan sitting next to Caroline who smiles and gestures politely to address the guest. "And my eldest son, Damon." He says and I look over to see Damon Salvatore sitting there. He looks over at me and smirks, only as if waiting for me to realize he was there and the shock on my face is probably very evident to onlookers. Damon and Stefan are brothers? Just then Guispee speaks again, "Today, we are honoring family and friendship. Life is full of pleasantries and happiness, and it's my honor to serve you all here tonight. May the grand feast begin." Just as he says that servers come out first handing us a vary of options of drinks, and then the appetizers. We go through a three course meal, but I can't really focus a lot on my surroundings because all I can think about is the fact that Damon and Stefan are brothers, and the shock around it. Once the meal is over the servers come over to clean the tables once you leave, and I go and head over to the bathroom. I straighten up my makeup and head out. I am in desperate need for some fresh air, so I headed out of the mansion and head into the grounds. As I'm walking a see someone laying on the ground. I approach the person closer and see that it's none other than Damon Salvatore.

"What are you doing here?" I asked curiously.

"Didn't you hear my father at dinner?" He asks smoothly and I roll my eyes.

"I mean, why are you laying on the ground?" I question and he looks at me.

"Just thinking." Damon replies vaguely. Since I have nothing else to do I sit there beside him .

"About what?"

"Just today in general." Damon responds with another vague answer.

"What is today?" I ask, now intrigued by where this conversation is headed.

"Didn't Caroline tell you?" Damon asks.

"How did you know I came here with, Caroline?" I ask.

"You were sitting right next to her, and she was constantly talking to you. It isn't rocket science to put two and two together." Damon exclaims.

"Oh, uh, so would you tell me what today is?" I ask seriously.

He sighs before responding, "Today is the anniversary of my mother's death."

I then feel an ache of sorrow and understanding go through me, and for the first time I feel for Damon. "You know you can talk to me. We may not be close, but I also lost my parents too, maybe I can be able to relate." I say.

Damon scoffs before saying, "You know, Elena it was a while ago, and I'm pretty much over it. It's only on days like these that I think about her, although I appreciate the offer."

"So, Damon Salvatore can be nice." I say while smiling.

"When I want to be." Damon shrugs.

I sigh and say, "Look, I feel as if days at work would go a heck of a lot better if we were friends." I offer and he looks at me with an eyebrow raised.

"Friends? You want to be friends with me" He asks.

"Yeah, I know we haven't gotten along, but I'm willing to give you a second chance." I say.

"I don't really know how this whole friend thing works with you girls." Damon says.

"Just talk to me, and don't be an ass 100% of the time." I joke.

"Oh, that's impossible. Sorry, Elena. No can do." He jokes back.

"Damon!" I say with a small laugh.

"Elena, I'm naturally an ass. If you want to be friends with me, you're going to have to deal with that." He says.

"Alright fine. So… friends?" I ask taking my hand out for him to shake it.

"Maybe." He responds shaking it and I smile.

"I'm going to find, Caroline. Have a goodnight." I say before getting up and leaving to find Caroline. While I'm looking for her I get attacked by a shriek. I turn to the source and see Caroline running up to me.

"Woah, Caroline! Calm down! What happened?" I ask trying to calm her down.

"Elena...Stefan..He…" Caroline starts out of breath.

"Caroline, what happened?" I asked curiously.

"He proposed to me!" Caroline says excitedly showing me her hand and I look to see a beautiful diamond ring.

"Oh my gosh, Care'! That's amazing! I'm so happy for you!" I exclaimed and hugged her.

"I'm so happy right now! It was like a fairytale and my heart felt like it was about to explode and…" I then yawn subconsciously due to the fact that I'm tired. "Oh I'm sorry, 'Lena. Are you tired?" Caroline asked concernedly.

"Maybe a bit, although we can maybe talk about it tomorrow?" I offer.

"Yeah, let me take you home so you can rest." She says, and we head over to her car and soon arrive at my apartment. When I arrive, Flin is already asleep due to it being late, and I change out of my dress and get ready for bed. Then I get into bed and once again fall asleep only this time I see Damon full body in my dream instead of just his eyes. Why are my dreams doing this? I guess that's a question for a later time.

**Author's Note: How did all of you enjoy the fanfic? Review for some feedback, and I can't wait to hear what you all have to say. I enjoyed making this chapter, and I'm proud to have been able to post two chapters in one day! Now for the title of the next chapter, 'Sudden Secrets.'**


	5. Sudden Secrets

Abysmal Skies

Chapter 5: Sudden Secrets

**Hiya, this weekend I've been trying to be very productive with supplying all of you amazing people with more chapters. I love constant reviews on things i may need to improve on and what you'd like to see more of in my fanfic. Hope you all have a lot of fun, and enjoy the fanfiction!**

I awaken the next morning snuggled in with Flin. Gosh I love the weekends for allowing me to sleep in and spend some quality time with my fiance. I snuggle in closer to him to embrace the warmth.

"Damn, it's awesome to be able to spend the morning with you now." Flin mumbles and I sit up a bit with a smile.

"I see someone's awake." I say flirtily and Flin sits up slightly too.

"I missed not being around you as much, and I was thinking, do you want to go to dinner with me tonight?" Flin asks with hope in his voice.

"Of course, baby. Also, I'm sorry I've been a jerk recently. I was tired, but that's not an excuse." I say guiltily and Flin lifts my head up to meet my eyes with his.

"Elena, baby. I love you, and no relationship is perfect, let's just have dinner tonight and forget about all of the mistakes we've both made these past few days." Flin says and I smile at how sweet he is. I honestly don't deserve him.

"I love you too." I say sweetly kissing him softly. Kissing turns into making out, and one thing leads to another, and 30 minutes later I enter the bathroom after our 'passionate embrace'. I take a shower, and use all the products that I use on a daily basis, and when I exit the shower I check my phone and I see a text from Bonnie.

'Hey, Elena. Call me when you can.'

Her text aren't usually this blunt, so it kind of gets my mind racing. Did something happen? Should I be worried? Why does the text seem like she's about to tell me something important? I stop my mind from racing, and decide to answer the questions by calling her. The phone only rings once before she picks up the phone.

"Hey, Bonnie. Is something wrong?" I ask when she picks up.

"No, I just need to talk to you." Bonnie says a but urgently.

"Sure, what's up?" I asked curiously.

"Can we talk in person. I just want you to be there." Bonnie says.

"Uh, yeah...sure. Are you sure everything's okay, Bonnie?" I ask concerned.

"Of course it is, why wouldn't it be?" Bonnie says calming down a bit.

"I don't know, uh.. so , when do you want to meet up?" I ask switching the topic.

"Oh, maybe in two hours at the cafe." Bonnie suggest.

"Sounds good, I'll see you then." I say.

"See ya." Bonnie replies before hanging up. I was quite intrigued by what she had to say. I get dressed in comfy red shorts and a tight black top. I also put on a matching red and black ankle boots. I don't even both doing my hair or applying makeup, since I assume that today would just be a chill day. I then exit the bathroom and head into the main area, and Flin was currently working on the computer.

"Hey, babe." I say sweetly kissing the top of his head. He then turned to me and see that I'm dressed.

"Are you going anywhere?" Flin asks curiously.

"Yeah, after I got out of the shower, Bonnie called, and she needs me to meet her face to face. I believe it's important, however I will be back in time to get ready for our date tonight." I inform and he smiles warmly at me.

"That's fine, Sweetie, your friend needs you to be there, and it isn't my place to stop you." He responds and I smiled back at him.

Thanks, baby. You're so sweet." I say kissing him on the cheek before grabbing my black purse with all of my necessary items in it, and head out to my car. Then, as soon as I enter the car, I head over to Bonnie's house. When I arrive once again I know on the door, and the door opens quickly.

"Hey, I'm glad you're here." Bonnie says. "Come on in."

I step inside and Bonnie seats me down on the couch, and she sits next to me. "Okay, so would you please tell me what's going on, Bonnie?" I ask concerned.

"I just...I don't want to lie to you anymore, and I feel more comfortable telling this to you first." Bonnie says and I only get more confused.

"Lie? What are you talking about Bonnie?" I ask crossing my arms.

"Okay, I'm just going to go out and say it...I'm dating someone." Bonnie admits.

"What's so hard about that?" I ask with a soft smile on my lips.

"Elena, It's not just anyone...it's your brother. I'm dating Jeremy." Bonnie says and my eyes widen in shock.

"Wait? What? Jeremy?! Since when?" I ask frantically and confusedly.

"Since two years ago." I hear a voice from behind me. I turn and see Jeremy standing behind me.

"Oh my gosh, Jer'. I thought you were away at college." I say standing up and giving him a hug.

"I was, but then I heard Bonnie came back, and I couldn't miss seeing her." Jeremy admits and I take in the information given.

"Are you mad?" Bonnie asks meekly, as if I was going to blow up on her for dating my brother.

"No! Of course not! I'm just curious as to how this happened." I say.

"O-okay, well. I think I may be able to explain everything." Bonnie says.

**-Flashback (2 years ago)-**

Bonnie's POV:

"Bye, Elena." I respond before hanging up on the phone. Elena was all the way in Mystic Falls finishing her college education, while I was only one year within college. I then begin to walk to my class, with my earbuds in. As I'm picking on song on my earbuds I bump into someone. "Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't looking where I was-" I then stop as I look up and see a familiar face. "Jeremy?" I ask confusedly.

"Hey, Bonnie. I heard that you are in MIddlebury, but I didn't expect us to meet like this." Jeremy jokes and I can't help but to laugh too. It's nice having someone familiar with me.

"I didn't know that you got accepted to Middlebury! That's awesome." I say and he smiles.

"Yeah, I applied for my art abilities, and I have four years in French, and they looked past my old grades when I wasn't in the best state of mind." Jeremy says happily.

"I'm glad you're in a better place now, Jeremy." I say honestly with a bright smile plastered on my face. I know how much he struggled in the past due to the death of his parents, and I'm so happy that he's in control now.

"Me too, also it's awesome that I have someone to talk to. I haven't really met someone that I click with just yet...other than you of course." Jeremy responds a bit nervously, and for the first time since talking to him I actually observe him. He has really grown into a handsome man, and his style had greatly improved from his emo days. "Uh, so...do you want to meet up later. For coffee or something." Jeremy suggest and I blush slightly at his offer.

"Yeah, that'd be nice. It's been nice to talk to you again, Jer'." I say sweetly.

"Same, can't wait to see you...let's say..4?" Jeremy asks.

"Yeah, that works with my schedule. See you then." I say giddily.

"See you, Bonnie." He replies with a smile on his face. I then walk to my next class.

**-Present Time-**

(Elena's POV:)

"...And that was the start of us. From then on, we just grew closer and closer, to the point where I don't know what I'd do without him." Bonnie admits shyly, and Jeremy walks over to you.

"I feel that same way." Jeremy replied giving her a quick kiss on her temple to reassure her. I see her eyes light up again and her smile. There's now way I could ever hate the relationship these two have, they clearly make eachother more happy than I've ever seen them, and I support them unconditionally.

"Do you...approve of us?'" Bonnie asks curiously.

"Of course I do, Bonnie. You two are perfect for eachother. There is no way I could not support you two with all my heart." I reply kindly and Bonnie's smile lights up at my words.

"That's awesome, Elena. Thank you for being such an awesome friend."

"I'm not nearly as an awesome friend as you."I say hugging her. Then, after we hug I approach Jeremy.

"Take care of her, alright. I love you both so much, and I want you both to be happy." I say wrapping my brother in a hug.

"Of course, 'Lena. I'll be there for her no matter what. I love you big sis." He says

"I love you baby bro." I says with a smile back. "I would love to stay longer and talk, but I have to make it in time for my dinner with Flin." I say checking my phone.

"Alright, I'll talk to you later." Bonnie says.

"Goodbye." Jeremy says.

"Bye." I wave to both of them , before gathering my items and heading over to my car. Then I start the car and head back to my apartment. When I enter Flin is still working and I smile at him.

"I'm home." I say sweetly towards him.

"Hey, baby. I'll get ready soon. Can't wait for tonight." He looks back and smiles at me. I nod and head into my room to get changed into an elegant black dress with black flats. I also straighten my hair and apply some light makeup. Then when I exit, Flin is already all dressed up and ready for our date. We head over to this nice Italian restaurant, and I have a wonderful time there with him. My favorite food has always been Italian food, and sadly the only Italian dish I can make is spaghetti. We then go for a little walk at the neighboring park to the restaurant, and head to the car, once it gets too late. Then we drive home and head to bed together, I snuggle into his chest and we drift off to sleep together, but despite all the events that happened today I still have the same dream of Damon looking at me with an intense gaze.

**Author's Note: Hey, I can't believe I actually finished my third chapter in one night! Thank you all for the love and support, and I really enjoyed seeing all of your reviews. If you have anything you want to see more of in future chapters please review, and I love all you wonderful people. Now, for the title of the next chapter, 'Our Thing.'**


	6. Our Thing

Abysmal Skies

Chapter 6: Our Thing

**Before we get into this chapter I just want to say, I know Delena hasn't been very present in these chapters yet, and I know some people want to see more of them, so this chapter I made sure to have more Delena moments. Also I've been wanting to write longer chapters to get all of my ideas across. Please review if you like longer or shorter chapters better so I can use that as a guideline. Thank you to all my followers and reviewers! **

Sunday was very calm for me since Flin and I basically rested all day. I definitely needed this refresh when it came to stress, and regaining my energy. Luckily I've been less snappy, and I've been talking to Bonnie and Caroline more often. Today was Monday, which meant that I was going to go back to work again. I actually look forward to it, since Damon and I have started over as friends, and I get to check all of the new and upcoming novels. When I wake up, I do my normal morning routine, and decide that I might as well look nice today, so I look in my closet to see what to wear. I grab a black pin skirt, and put black sheer stockings on underneath the skirt. Then, I find a bright yellow button down, and put on a black scarf around my neck. I put my hair in a loose elegant bun, and apply some concealer, maskera, eyeshadow, and lipgloss. Lastly, I put on some formal black ankle boots, and walk out of my bedroom. Flin was still asleep, since he was up relatively late last night working hard on a website he needed to make look presentable for one of his clients. I go ahead and make myself a quick breakfast of some peanut butter toast, with fresh fruit on the side. I also make a smoothie to go for the office, and for lunch I pack some leftovers of the Italian food I had with Flin on Friday. I grab my work bag and my purse, and before I leave I quickly fill up a water bottle before heading out to my car. I drive to work, and head into the building. I see an acquaintance that I met earlier last week on the elevator and we have a brief discussion before she has to get off at floor '6'. Then, when I reach my floor, I exit and head to my desk. Then, I check the email Damon sends me everyday for everything that I need to accomplish at work, and it just says to answer the varied business calls, reschedule his 2:00 P.M. meeting to 3:30 P.M., and during that meeting to take notes so that he could look over them to evaluate his final decision on the main topic. Generally, today isn't too busy, I just start with switching his 2:00 appointment to 3:30, and accept the first business call. First I check if it was from one of the companies listed that he needed to talk to, and then I inform and forward it to Damon. In no time, it's lunch time, and while I'm taking out my food, Damon emerges from his office which is next to my desk. He looks at the food on my desk and smirks.

"What?" I ask with a ghost of a smile on my lips.

"Is that Eggplant Parmesan?" He asked curiously.

"It is actually, how did you know?" I ask with a soft laugh.

"Well, I'm Italian, and I can recognize any Italian dish. It's only one of my many talents." Damon teases.

"Well, this dish is my favorite that the restaurant serves." I say.

"Ah, so you're an eggplant girl." Damon jokes.

"Is that bad?" I ask with a laugh.

"No, I'm just taking notes...mental notes." Damon says, sitting in the seat that was in front of my desk.

"For what? Our First Date?" I joke, sarcastically.

"Eh, I was thinking more like...5 year anniversary." He teases back with a smirk. I feel my face heat up, and clear my throat.

"Er, uh." I take a deep breath, "So, what did you bring for lunch?" I ask trying to go on a different topic.

"I don't bring my lunch, usually I just eat with some business partners, but today I have no one to dine with. Which leads me to ask, would you rather eat your leftover Eggplant Parmesan, or some have lunch with me?" Damon asks.

"Hey, I happen to like Eggplant Parmesan." I say back.

"Okay, I guess I go to Midtown Mirrors by myself then." Damon taunts and my eyes widen. Midtown Mirrors, was a very exclusive restaurant was was at the top of a building that gave you a beautiful view of the city.

"What? How did you get a reservation there?!" I ask, shock evident in my voice.

"It's simple really, I own 30% of the company when I invested in them, they blew up, and now I have a permanent table separate from the other guests there. I get to come as I please." Damon explains, and I am still in awe.

"Wow...you certainly do have everything." I exasperate, and Damon's expression changes slightly.

"I don't have everything." He replies and I look back to him.

"What do you mean?" I ask, curious about what his answer would be.

"That...is a question for another time. Now, are you coming or not."

"I'm coming, just let me get my purse." I say, and he stands as I get my purse. We start walking, but by the time we enter the elevator I can tell that it's not the same as the elevator I rode up on.

"Wait, is this a different elevator?" I ask, observing the new surroundings. This elevator looks cleaner, and more elegant than the one that I used to get up in. I thought there was only one elevator.

"Yeah, only high officials, and business partners have access to this elevator." Damon says almost monotone.

"Woah, this must be awesome." I say enthusiastically.

"I wouldn't use the word awesome." Damon replies.

"I don't understand, what could be so bad about riding in a private elevator?" I ask.

"Well, the purpose of it is to make sure that I and other higher officials can get around the buildings easier, and I don't see how an elevator that was made to keep me busy as awesome." Damon say replies, and I feel sympathetic. I now remember that he is always (usually) the first one to come to work, and the last one out, unless someone is working the night shift.

"Oh." Is all I can say after being given the depressing news. I guess you never truly know what happens in a person's life until you're told the truth about it. And, even if it looks envious from outside observers, the reality is quite depressing. The ding of the elevator snaps me from my thoughts, and the doors open. Damon and I walk out, and there are a couple of people in the office either making appointments, or heading out for lunch break. Damon and I walk to the lady at the front desk and she smiles brightly. She has tan skin and black hair, her eyes and a medium brown shade, and she seems to have this fake smile plastered on her face at all times.

"Sir, you heading out for lunch break?" She asks cheerily towards Damon.

"Yes, Miss. Gilbert and I are heading out, so make sure to not let any calls get through until we get back." Damon says and her eyes shift to me, and her smile falters a bit.

"Oh, of course." She says, and her cheery voice seems a bit more drawn. When Damon turns to leave, I'm about to follow him, but the woman glares at me stop in my tracks. I freeze for a moment before continuing after Damon.

As I'm walking with him out of the building I ask him, "What was that woman's deal?" Right after I ask the question he starts laughing, and I can't help but to aggravated with his reaction. "Is this funny to you?"

"Yeah, Elena it really is." Damon says backs pushing my buttons.

I sigh, and decide that it's not worth it to fight and I ask, "Fine, so are you going to tell me why she was acting that way?"

"Well, let's just say we had to work on something after hours." Damon says in a suggestive tone and my face heats up.

"Geez, okay I regret asking." I say trying to get the mental image out of my head, and he's laughing at me again. Only this time I start laughing too. "No. No. This is not funny." I say while trying to compose myself and failing.

"Then why are you laughing?" He asks while chuckling.

"Because, you're an idiot! That's why!" I joke while giggling. We continue laughing until Damon stops. I stop and see where we are, and I see that we are in front of a Camaro.

"Woah, is this your car?" I ask gawking at the beauty of this classic.

"Yeah, what car were you expecting me to drive?"

"I was thinking more on the track of ferrari or a tesla...you know like the usual wealthy person." I say observing the car in awe.

He chuckles at infatuation at his car and says, "It's kinda refreshing to see someone so impressed by something that seems so small to me."

"Well, not everyone can afford a Camaro." I say in a playful manner.

"I guess, now hop in, so we can go." Damon says while unlocking the car. I get into the passenger's seat, and Damon soon after getting into the driver's seat. Before he starts the car he asks, "Do you want to listen to music?"

"I can't imagine you having good tastes in music." I joke.

"Ha, ha. For your information I have amazing tastes." Damon retorts while starting the car.

"Doubtful." I tease, stifling a giggle.

"Alright, fine. If that's what you believe than pick a song on the radio then." He says turning on the radio. I change the station to an Alternative station and quietly enjoy it while we drive to the restaurant. It doesn't take long before we reach a beautiful building that looks as if it was completely made from ornate glass. Then, we walked in, and there is a man dressed in formal attire at the front desk, currently typing something on the computer in front of him.

Damon clears his throat and the man asks while still keeping all of his attention on the computer, "Do you have a reservation?"

"It's not necessary." Damon says showing a card to him and the man's eyes widen.

"O-oh, sorry Mr. Salvatore. I'll lead you to your table right away...is the lady with you?" The server asks curiously giving me a quick glance up and down that makes me feel slightly uncomfortable.

"Yes, this is my assistant, and I'll be dining with her today." Damon informs, and the server nods and smirks, looking at my direction again.

"Of course, right this way." He says leading us to the elevator, he takes us to the top floor, and starts to lead us to an area separate of all the guests. It's a private area with a long table, and a small table with two chairs, and the server seats us. The table is modern, and the view and surroundings are beautiful. I even see a hot tub on the edge of the roof, looking out to the city. As soon as we are both seated, he hands us a menu, and says, "There are designated servers up here, but I could ask someone else to take my place at the first floor to serve you beautiful."

I feel my face flush with disgust and before I can retort Damon says, "No, I believe we are good. And I don't appreciate you making moves on my assistant that make her uncomfortable. Now, if you could please scram before I have you fired."

The servers eyes widened and he stumbled with his response, "Oh, s-sorry. I'll be out of your way, s-sir." Damon seemed to have a happy smirk on his face and as much as I was glad that the server was gone, I also felt bad for him. It's not like he knew I was engaged, or that he was making me uncomfortable.

"Damon, I appreciate you looking out for me, but you could have handled that situation a little more nicely." I say with a soft tone, and Damon's eyes meet mine.

"I told you this before, I'm not a nice person. He just needed to be told firmly so that he won't make the same mistake." Damon replies, and I truly don't know how to respond to his statement. I just look at the menu, and find something on the menu that I'd like. I could feel his eyes on me as I looked through the menu, and I was beginning to feel extremely hot under his gaze. Once I find something on the menu that looks good, I put my menu down and look up for the first time since I've picked up the menu. I see Damon still looking at me with his hands intertwined with the other. His menu appears untouched and I try to change the subject.

"Oh, you haven't t-touched your menu..uh, do you know what you want?" I ask a bit meekly.

"I get the same order every time I come. There isn't a reason to open it." Damon says seriously, never once breaking out eye contact until I swallow and look in another direction. I could practically feel his smirk as he asks, "Do I make you nervous?"

I look in his direction again and sigh, "I'm going to be honest with you, Damon. Yes, you're a very intimidating person. However, you always say that you want people to treat you normally. How can you expect to be treated normally when you use your status to get what you want."

"He was out of line, Elena." Damon replies.

"I'm not just talking about him, I know that you also use your power against other people too, and I'm not trying to be mean, but how can you expect to be treated normally after doing things like that?" I asked curiously.

"I...I guess that might be part of my issue." Damon admits, although he doesn't seem too off put by it. Then, the new server of ours comes over and gets our orders, and we sit in silence for awhile, neither knowing what to say to the other.

I take a deep breath and speak, "Can you tell me something about yourself...something no one knows?"

"Hmm?" He seems a bit confused by my sudden question.

"Friends...that's what they do. They get to know each other, and frankly I don't know much about you, Damon." I explain.

"Uh, well...My mom taught me how to cook."

I smile at him and say, "That's a start...care to elaborate on that?"

"She would cook with me at the start, we'd mostly mess around though, but somehow she still made the food amazing." Damon explains and I smile at the happy memory he just explained. "What about you. Any secrets worth my time?"

"I- to be honest, I don't know where to start." I say meekly.

"When we were at the Family Get-Together, you said something about how your parents passed away...if you mind me asking you, what happened?" Damon asks and I feel myself start to pale at the rememberance.

"Uh, i-it was a car crash. My parents just picked me up from a party when I was 16, and the car lost control and went over Wickery Bridge." I explain feeling unsettled by telling the story.

"You don't have to continue…" Damon says observing that I'm feeling quite nervous.

"Y-yeah, I think I'd like to talk about something happier, after all, it was a long time ago." I say putting on a fake smile at the end to try to reassure him that I'm alright.

"Well, it looks like we'll have something else to talk about...the foods here." Damon says and I turn to an amazing smell of the food we ordered. Good, I can distract myself with this. Damon and I dig in our food, and continue talking more about ourselves. There is definitely a lot to Damon that I didn't expect, and I could feel myself warming up to him. By the time lunch was over, Damon rode us back to the office. I did the rest of my tasks, and handed him the meeting reports. When I arrived home Flin was there with one of his friends named Joshua. We had dinner with his friend, and just relaxed for the rest of the day until night time came once again. I lay down there facing my bedside table as I fall into slumber with the soft murmur of the fan that was getting a bit old. When I drifted off to sleep, unsurprisingly I saw Damon, however this time it wasn't just him, it was a moving dream, but only for a little bit. He turned to me as we were walking down this trail...somewhere I don't recognize. That was it. Not very long, but at least it was more dreamlike. I'm still confused as to why my dream of Damon is getting more and more descriptive. I guess I'll figure that out later.

**Author's Note: Hello my awesome viewers! I'm so sorry this took a longer time than I expected it to, since my week has been so busy, and this chapter is longer than the others. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please write a review of if you like longer or shorter chapters. Now for next chapter's title, **

'**Trips and Trivia.'**

**-Yours Truly**

**Amara 3**


	7. Trips and Trivia

Abysmal Skies

**Chapter 7: Trips and Trivia**

It's been 3 months since Damon and I have had dinner together, and we now often hang out. I would honestly consider us good friends now, and it makes me happy to have someone else I can talk to other than Bonnie or Caroline. Flin and I have found a venue, tux, and other things surrounding the wedding, and I'm beyond excited for it. I smile thinking back at how awesome these past few months have been, and I turn back to the suitcase I was currently packing. I was heading over to France with Damon, other high officials, and their assistants. We are staying there for a week, and there is an excellent opportunity to become business associates with a bigtime company, which is why we need all hands on deck in France. I place the last outfit in my bag, and zip up my suitcase content with all of my choices. I humm softly as I gather my things for the airport, which I was about to leave to. I have my work bag and suitcase with me, and I'm wearing some black jeans, a red sweater, and a black beanie that matches my jeans. Satisfied with my outfit I exit the room and I see Flin in the living room waiting for me.

"You didn't have to get up this early, baby." I say to him, and the time was currently 4:02.

"I wanted to, after all I'm not going to see you in a week." He replies with a pout. I walk over to him and give him a reassuring smile. I wrap my arms around his neck and give him a quick kiss.

"I love you, baby, and it's only going to be a week. You have nothing to be sad about." I say with a smile.

"I love you too, just know that I'll miss you…" Flin says and I feel my heart warm.

"I'll miss you too." I say before giving him another kiss. I pull back from him and added, "I have to go if I want to be there on the ideal time."

"Alrighty. Bye, sweetie." Flin says as I gather my bags.

"Bye." I replied sweetly before heading out of my apartment, and when I reach the parking garage I load all of my bags. It takes about 45 minutes to get to the airport, and it also takes 30 minutes to get through airport security. It was currently 5:20, and the meet up time was 5:30, so I head over to my gate and wait for more people to arrive. First the VP arrives, and his name is Gregary Crawford, then the Director of Marketing arrives and her name is Helena Franklin, then the President arrives and her name is Julliete Moore, and lastly Damon shows up with a coffee in hand to the gate.

I approach him and ask, "So when are we supposed to board?"

"The boarding is at 6:30, and since you're boarding with me, we are the first on." Damon says and I'm a bit shocked.

"We are group one? I talked to all the other executives and they are all group two." I say a bit confusedly.

"That's because I travel a lot, and get a plethora of miles. That eventually got me to be a OneWorld member, and all the other executives and Executive Platinum." He says and I nod my head in understanding. "Isn't this your first flight?" He asks.

"Yeah, I'm a bit nervous, but it should be fun." I say with a small smile. I've always wanted to go to France, however there was no way that I could afford to go before.

"Trust me, I've always loved France. I'm sure you'll love it too." Damon says placing him hand on my shoulder, and I feel my skin start to heat up at the contact.

"Uh, d-do you think we should sit down, after all it's going to be a while until we board." I say moving so that his hand is no longer on my shoulder. I just couldn't handle the way I felt whenever he touched me. It was like I was flying into the Sun.

"Sure, although in about 35 minutes we'll have to get up again." Damon says and I nod. I just needed to get away so that I could breathe. Just then I realize that I'm going to be spending a week with him in France… Paris in specific. Oh, Lord… I'm screwed.

I wait for the 35 minutes to go, and I texted some of my friends and talk with a couple of the other executives. Luckily, it doesn't take long for the time to pass, and before long Damon walks over to me to inform me about boarding. They call for group one, and Damon and I walk up. We enter the plane, but as I'm about to walk Damon stops me.

"Is something wrong?" I ask a bit worried that he stopped me abruptly.

"No, it's just out seats aren't back there, they are on the second floor." Damon says and my eyes widen.

"There is a second floor?" I ask shocked.

"Yeah, you, me, all the executives, and some other OneWorld members are seated up there." Damon informs and I'm still in shock that some airplanes have two floors. He chuckles at my expression and adds, "C'mon, lets go." We walk to the second floor and there are couches, nice seats, and everything is much nicer up here.

"Woah… it's like an apartment up here." I say in awe.

"Let's go to our places." Damon says and he leads me to a seat. "Here's yours area, and if you want to talk to me my seat is right next to yours." Damon says and I nod. This flight is going to be awesome…

**(30 minutes later- takeoff)**

"Oh my God, Damon I'm gonna die!" I scream as the plane starts to shake and move really fast. I'm currently squeezing his hand so hard that I might have cut off the circulation. Damon is currently laughing hysterically at me, and I glare at him."This is not funny, Damon!" I say and the airplane picks up speed.

"Relax, Elena. I'm right here, and this is all normal. Just look at me." Damon says and I take deep breaths and turn towards him. I look into his crystal blue eyes and immediately find myself calmer. His eyes are making me feel as if he's staring directly into my soul and I feel my breath caught in my throat. I subconsciously glance quickly down at him lips, and look up while tensing at my mistake.

"I-"

"Relax, Elena. Don't talk, just take a deep breaths." Damon says and I close my mouth and close my eyes while taking deep breaths in and out. Soon the plane lifts up and I can feel myself calming down. I open my eyes and sigh, and when I feel that my hand is still holding Damon's I blush and move my hand away.

"S-sorry about that… I uh, was pretty scared." I say blushing really hard and Damon chuckles at my embarrassment.

"Elena, honestly it's okay. You weren't expecting that, and I can see why you were scared." Damon says placing his hand back down on mine. I feel my breathing quicken at this movement, but to my own surprise I softly hold his hand. It's not bad to hold a friends hand in comfort… right? I feel Damon pull out hands up, and his kissing the back of my hand, before placing them back down on the open divider that separates our two seats. In a couple of minutes the drinks that we ordered arrived, and our hands were forced to seperate. I watch movies, sometimes talk to Damon and after many hours I'm tired, but I can't seem to fall asleep, even after reclining my chair all the way. After I've changed my seating arrangement almost 6 times Damon asks, "Having trouble sleeping?"

"Uh, yeah. Sorry, did I wake you up?" I ask worriedly.

"No, I'm not that tired yet, but I have to ask, why are you having trouble sleeping?" Damon asks curiously.

"I don't know… I guess I'm just used to sleep with my fiance, and I guess I miss the warmth." I say.

"Well, the chairs are pretty big, and if you want, you can come lay over here with me." Damon says.

Since I'm so tired, I don't really have the proper mindset to make the right decision. "Alright, just as long as it doesn't inconvenience you." I say while yawning.

"Definitely not, now come over here." Damon says enthusiastically, and I walk over there with a blanket. I sit next to him and curl up by his side resting my head on his shoulder. I already feel myself starting to drift and I mumble a quick 'thank you.' before falling asleep. "Hey, Elena… wake up." I hear softly, and the warmth next to me starts to move so I groan and hold on tighter. I hear a soft chuckle and I opened my eyes slowly, and once I regain consciousness my eyes widen and I sit up. "Great, Sleeping Beauty is awake." Damon jokes and I blush remembering what happened hours ago.

"U-uh, I...what time is it?" I ask flustered, while rubbing my eyes.

"In Paris it's 11:05, and we've just landed." Damon says and I sit up straight.

"We're here?" I ask surprised.

"Yup, soon we'll have to get up and get our stuff to exit the plane." Damon says and I just nod still flustered. "Did you have a good night's sleep?" Damon whispers in my ear, and a soft gasp escaped my lips.

"Y-yeah actually… thank you." I say looking away from him. I feel his hand come into contact with mine, and he holds it. I softly squeeze his hand and look at him once more. We continue holding hands until it's time to leave, and we gather our items and leave, going out back to the world again, but this time things are slightly different.

**Author's Note: AHHH, I was smiling so much when writing this chapter, I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did, and I'd love to hear you guy's feedback on this chapter. I hope all you wonderful people have an amazing day! -Amara**


	8. New Discoveries

Abysmal Skies

**Heyo, I can't express how happy and grateful for all my wonderful readers and reviewers. Thank you all so much for the support and feedback! It is greatly appreciated! Now, I'm sorry if the uploads aren't as frequent since I have another fanfic out (Breath Me; go check it out if you haven't) and it's a bit hard to maintain. Now, let's get into the chapter!**

**Chapter 8 -New Discoveries**

**(Damon's POV- 11 years ago)**

"Mama?" I ask sheepishly peering through the large oak door where she was currently staying. Papa told me to stay away from her while she was resting in sickness, but I had to make sure she was okay. I opened the door a bit further, and the lantern in my other hand was beginning to shine through the opening. I take a couple steps inside observing my surroundings, and I ask again, "Mama?" This time I can hear some stirring in the room accompanied by some coughing. I walk quickly over to the source of the coughing to see my mom lying on the bed, looking very disheveled. It pained me to see her this way, but I had to remain strong for her.

Her crystal blue orbs meet mine and I see her face smile soft as she says, "Damon." Her voice is strained, but it still has the remnants of her sweet melodic voice.

I feel tears brim my eyes as I ask, "Mama, I was so worried about you. Are you okay?"

She smiles softly at me and responds, "You don't have to worry about me, sweetie. I'm in a place of no return…. And…. I miss you too, my little figlio." Her voice is soft and weak, and towards the end of her response I can hear her voice becoming more overtaken by sorrow.

I feel a pang of guilt and sadness overtake me and I say, "Mama, don't cry. Please don't cry." I can't stop the tears that threaten to break free from my own eyes seeing her this way, and I add, "God, this is all my fault."

"No. No. No, sweetheart, despite what your father says, there is no way this is your fault." My mother says wrapping her arms around me reassuringly, and I snuggled further into her warm embrace.

"Please don't leave me." I say while sobbing into her chest. Her hand strokes my hair as she softly sings my favorite dong that always calmed me down.

'**Stella, Stellina**

**La notte si avvicina:**

**La fiamma traballa,**

**La mucca é nella stalla.**

**La pecora e l'agnello,**

**La vacca col vitello,**

**La chioccia coi pulcini, **

**La gatta coi gattini;**

**E tutti fan la nanna**

**Nel cuore della mamma!**

**Star, little star,**

**The night is coming:**

**The flame flickers, **

**The cow is in the stable,**

**The sheep and the lamb, **

**The cow with her calf,**

**The hen with her chicks,**

**The cat with her kittens: **

**And they're all asleep**

**In their mother's heart!'**

As she finishes the song softly I can feel my breathing returned to normal and I look up to my mom, who is currently radiating light from her smile. "Sei la mia stella, mama." I say softly. It translates to, 'You are my star, mama.' My mom always symbolized eternal love with stars and I couldn;t imagine loving anyone more than my mom.

She softly laughs and responds, "No, mia figlio. I am not your star, she is out there somewhere though. Waiting for you to find her."

I feel my eyes light up as I ask, "Can you read me the story again?" She softly nods, and pats to the other side of the bed for me to lay next to her. I excitedly snuggle next to her and lay on her shoulder awaiting for her story.

"Once there was a man. He was the commander of the evil forces, and he was known as the dark prince, for he was also the son of the king. He lived his whole life believing that there were no happy endings or peace in this world, and his thoughts proved to be self destructive. When the war was facing a dilemma, he was forced to serve as a spy for the forces of good, what he didn't expect was to find was a star, often overlooked, and life had mistreated her just as life had with him, however she still made it her life's mission to show kindness and love to all who met her. Everyone who met her loved her and was enthralled by her charm, even the dark prince wasn't immune to her charm, and he fell in love with her. He would often use his free time in his mission to watch her shine in all of her beauty, but that was not why he loved her. He loved her for her fire and radiating compassion. By the time his troop had gathered enough info and the army was planning an attack that night against the forces of good, he was terrified for the first time in his life, for he was scared that his love, Estella would die. At the time of the attack he split apart from his troops and searched for Estella. When he couldn't find her he crumpled to the ground in agony. Regret was the only thing that flowed through his thoughts at that moment… that and the beautiful Estella. That's when he saw it, a couple of soldiers in his group trying to capture Estella. He was about to intervene when he saw Estella persevere and fly high up into the sky. Never had she ever shined brighter than when she did in that moment, and even the army of darkness was overwhelmed by her light. A good thing and a bad thing came from her flying up into the sky. The good thing was that she ended the war, and become a beacon of hope and peace. The bad thing was that she was permanently up in the sky, never to touch the ground ever again. The prince of darkness was heartbroken, so much so that he laid down his own life with a dying wish to be with his love. Just then another essence appeared by estella. This created a balance between the light and self sacrifice of Estella, and the darkness and self sacrifice of the prince. Together they remain with one another… Yin and Yang, light and darkness, The valiant sky, and the abysmal sea. Forever merged into one."

I sit there eyes filled with light and wonder of her story. But the piercing sound of her coughing broke me from my train of thoughts, only this time the cough wouldn't stop. "Mama?" I whisper weekly. "Mama?" I ask a bit more loudly. "Mama!" I scream as she crumples to the floor in pain. Just then, the door opens and I see my dad standing there.

"What did you do, boy? Back away from her!" He yells pushing my back and coming to my mothers needs.

"I wanna help, mama." I say getting closer but he backhands my face. I cower away rubbing the achy spot where he just hit me.

"I believe you've done enough! Go you your room, I'll deal with you later." My dad says, and I scurry off to my room, hiding under the blankets crying. Everyone around me gets hurt. Dad was right. No one could ever learn to love me.

**(2 weeks later)**

It's been two weeks since my mama's passing. I stand there in a well done suit, and made sure that the slaves were covering the spots where my father would burn me with his cigar. Undoubtedly there would be permanent scarring, but I see a small figure in the shadow break my attention from my wounds. I turn to see Stedan cowering behind the door frame, shaking in fear. Father has even been snapy with him. Luckily I've been able to keep Stefan away from the cigar and the hits. I smile softly at him and approach him. "D-damon…" Stefan stutters with his small voice.

"Yeah, Stef?" I asked, placing a hand on his shoulder trying to get him to relax around me. He was so young, I was 13 and he was only 6.

"I-I'm scared." He says with tears forming in his eyes. I feel my heart drop for him, and I want to start crying too, because the truth was… I was scared too, however I had to remain strong for him. He needed me to be there for him.

"Stef, remember when mama would tell us that whenever we were scared to just look at the stars." I tell him and I see Stefan give me a slight smile.

"Y-yeah." He says in a happier tone.

"If we look up there, and just lose ourselves in their beauty, and know that deep down as long as we have each other, we'll be okay… got it , Stef?" I ask.

"Yes, thank you, Damon." Stefan responds wrapping his small arms around he, giving me a hug. I hug his back slightly, and clear my throat once we seperate. 

"Now, it's time for us to leave, dad won't like us to be late." I say holding out my hand for Stefan to walk with me. We walk down to the church to say our goodbyes one last time.

**(Present time)**

I jolt up in my bed, panting and sweating buckets. I sweep my hand through my raven locks and move the covers off of me. Why does the universe have to be so cruel and run my mothers death in my face 24/7. I sigh and get up needing something to rehydrate with. I booked an apartment for us for the week, and everyone had a room, however what combines all the rooms is a large living space. I head out of my room and into the living space. I head over to where the fridge is and open it. I pour myself a glass of Apple Juice and take a large gulp of it. I hear a soft sound behind me, and I turn around and see Elena there. She speaks softly at being caught up, and I smirk at her and cross my arms. Gosh, she was so adorable. "Hm, what brings you up at this time of night?"

She stammers a bit as she responds, "U-uh, I just wanted to get some water a-and I came out here to get some." Then she pauses and looks at me. "What's your excuse?"

"Same thing really, I needed to get something to drink after waking up." I shrug and I see Elena's expression change from a slight startled expression to a rather curious one.

"Why did you suddenly wake up in the middle of the night?" She asks tilting her head to the side,and I couldn't help but compare to to a confused puppy.

"Your cute." I say and I see her face heat up in a blush.

"Y-you… just answer my question!" She rambles nervously and I chuckle at her adorable response.

"I was having a nightmare about my mother." I say seriously and I can see Elena's expression softened at the newly discovered news. She places a hand on my shoulder and I flinch slightly.

"Damon…" She draws seriously, her brown orbs drawing me in. "Don't hide from me." She says before giving me a hug. I feel my heart stop. The hug feels just as warm if not warmer than when my mama would hug me. I feel my heart become heavier and I wrap my arms around her, hugging her back. When we serate she looks up at me with a smile. Her chocolate brown eyes bore into my crystal blue ones and I feel myself getting more and more deeper into her spell.'You make it impossible for me not to love you.' I think in my head, and without thinking I press my lips against hers softly. She tenses at first but slightly relaxes. She isn't responsive which is a bit disappointing, but she also doesn't push me away. I cup the side of her face softly, and break the kiss. I look into her eyes which look confused as if contemplating something, and I feel as if she isn't in the proper state of mind to respond to me.

"Goodnight." I say softly before leaving her in the living area to think over what had just happened. I plop on my bed touching my lips which were still warm from the kiss. I've kissed many women before, but never had it ever felt like that. Is this what love feels like? No, I'm not in love with Elena. That's truly impossible. I lay back under the covers and begin to fall back asleep, dreaming of Elena and I flying up into the clouds.

**Author's Note: Ahhhh! I love and hate so many things about this chapter. It is so hard to try to write a believable mother son relationship, and I hope I did a good job with you guys, also it is painful to write about death and abuse. Although, to end on a high note Delena finally kissed, and we also got to see a bit into what Damon's thoughts were. Please review for any future suggestions or feedback, and I can't wait to write again. Bye! -Amara**


	9. Author's Note (PLEASE READ)

**Author's Note:**

**PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE NOTE!**

**Hello all of my viewers, I just want to inform you that I am currently working on making a lot longer chapters which means that the upload times will be a lot more staggered than usual, and I just want to make sure that you all knew what was happening. Also, my personal life has been getting more hectic, and I just want to inform that uploads will probably be 1-3 uploads a week depending on my schedule. I love writing for you all and I hope you guys can understand where I'm coming from. Thank you all so much for the support and I love each and every one of you. If you need someone to talk to my Private Messages is a good way to contact. I'm mentioning this due to the overwhelming depression and anxiety increases in our society, and as a person who went through both of those disorders intensely, I want to make sure I can help as much as I can. So if you want to vent or need someone to talk to, I'm always available. I just have one last thing before I end this note, which is the fact that to have hope in yourself and in others, I spent a lot of time stuck in fear, so I just want to tell you all that hope will help you gain confidence and be more and more open over time. Never lose hope, especially with all of the dreams you have for the future. I love you all, and thank you to all of those who read through this entire note! -Amara**


	10. Never Let Me Go

Abysmal Skies

**Hello all of my wonderful viewers. I just want to say that I appreciate all of the support and time you spent to read this chapter and I appreciate each and every one of you. I've gotten a lot of feedback to create clonger chapters, so I will be doing that for all of my stories for now on, although it may end up taking a bit longer to upload chapters. I just wanted to inform you all on the latest news, and now that you are all up to date, let's get into this chapter. **

Chapter 9: Never let me go

**(Elena's POV:)**

I sit in my bed just like I had been for the majority of the night, for I haven't been able to sleep. After nightmares I always have issues sleeping, however tonight I was kept awake by something that should never had happened. Damon kissed me last night, and I let him. Granted, I didn't kiss him back, however I should've pushed him back or I should've done anything I could to stop him. But the worst part was that I enjoyed the kiss. It felt warm and firey and passionate. I'm such an awful person for allowing such activities to happen while I'm out of town with my fiancé waiting at home for me. Was it cheating? I don't know… maybe. Should I tell him? In person if anything. What do I tell Damon? Anything to restore our friendship. So many questions with multiple right answers. I sigh and sit up with a stretch. The sun was lightly shining through the window and I open the curtains. For the first time I allow myself to actually view the real reason I was excited for this trip. The beauty and charm and France. I was specifically in a rented French apartment and I opened my curtains to a nice view of some of the buildings and a beautiful park. Damon certainly outdone himself with choosing a place to stay for our business trip. So far what is 100% for today is a group meeting at a café for lunch and a formal dinner with our potential business partners at 5:45. I had to make sure everything was perfectly planned and no issues were coming up with the week's scheduling. I decide that it's time to get ready and I take a shower, which like the rest of the apartment was quite lavish. I did my morning skin care routine, put on white casual flowy dress that looked quite charming and fitting for Paris. I curl my hair into soft waves, and lastly I do a light makeup look with only concealer, maskera, blush, lip gloss, and eyeliner. Once I've figured that I looked presentable I decided that I should probably get my tasks done now rather than later, so I call and check up on the scheduling to make sure that everything is going according to plan. By the time that I've finished with my tasks it's 10:45 A.M. We meet up for lunch at 11:15 A.M. today so I grab my purse and decide that it's probably best to see who is out in the living space as of right now, I'd like to pass the time talking to a fellow employee. I step out into the living space to see the Director of Marketing, Hellen Franklin. She is wearing a nice light blue blouse with a nice pair of white jeans. Her curly hair up in a bun, and she seems to have just gotten off of a phone call. She turns to where I am standing, noticing my presence and smiles at me. Hellen is a very sweet yet strict woman, which is very essential to maintain a leadership role, but the thing I love most about her work ethic is that she has a very hands on approach when it comes to the people who are working in her group. I see it as quite admirable for a woman of her status. I approach her with a smile and take a seat next to her where she was sitting on the couch. "Hey, Hellen." I say

"Hello, Elena. How are you doing this lovely morning?" She asks curiously.

"Pretty well, I'm a bit tired, however I was able to finish all of my tasks." I inform and she smiles at me.

"I admire that you're a hard worker, Elena. It's no wonder Damon hired you to be his assistant. I know you're still rather new here, and I just want to say that you're doing really well so far, and I want to tell you to keep up the good work." Hellen says sweetly and I honestly feel flattered.

"Thank you, but I mustn't take all of the praise, Damon is often organizing my material and work instructions to make it easier for me. Although I do appreciate your kindness." I say gratefully.

"It's no problem… oh, I heard it was your first time out of the country." Hellen says and I smile at the remembrance that I'm currently in France.

"Yeah, the plane ride was admittedly slightly frightening, but Paris is so beautiful." I saw gazing out of the window in awe.

"This suits you." Hellen says and I turn my head over to look at her. I'm a bit confused as to what she is implying.

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously.

"Travel, I can tell you have a love for life and that you're an adventurer." Hellen says and I start to think into it. I've never really considered traveling much, since my current finances would never allow it. I just assumed that I'd work here for a while, have a couple kids with Flin after we get married, and retire when the time calls for it. Hellen notices that I'm currently in my thoughts and asks, "Are you alright, Elena?"

"Yeah, I guess I'm just thinking right now. My current living situations would never really allow me to travel." I admit to her a bit sorrowfully.

"To be honest, we all start that way, and even if certain things appear scary at first, sometimes it's best to do what you feel in your heart is right. It could be a more ambitious job, a new way of living, a lot of factors persuade how you live you life." She explains and I feel as if I have a better understanding of my life now. I don't have to live that vanilla life, and I can find a couple of ways to maybe help me explore the world a bit more. Just the thought gets me excited.

"Thank you, Hellen. You're really sweet to be sitting here talking to me about this. I truly appreciate it." I say gratefully and she smiles in response.

"It's no big deal. I appreciate helping out a friend, although I feel like we have to leave soon or we may be late. Are you ready to go?" She asks grabbing her own purse.

"Yeah, are you?" I question back.

"Yes, now let's go. I'm dying to explore Paris, since it's been awhile since I've been here." She explains. We both exit the apartment and Find our way onto the Paris streets. The architecture is beautiful, and I feel a personal connection with some of the custom engravings. This city just calls to me, and I'm in awe by it beauty. We continue to walk following the GPS on my phone, since Hellen will most likely be using it more throughout her day. Finally we reach a small corner café, and we enter. Hellen asks if our reserved table has people already sitting there and the server nods in affirmation, before leading us over to where the VP Gregary Crawford and President Julliete Moore is sitting at the table. Glasses of water are arranged at every seat. I choose a seat next to Helena and pick up the menu. While I'm looking at the menu Hellen asks, "Is Damon not here?"

"No, he was the first one here actually. I believe he needed to use the bathroom." Gregary says and just then Damon walks in. I look away since I can't look at him after everything that happened the night prior. All I could do was hope that he wouldn't choose the seat next to me. Fortunately he chose the seat next to Hellen instead. A part of me knew that he was just giving me space so that I could focus, and I was a bit grateful for him doing that.

Hellen could most likely sense that I was tense and she asks while whispering to me, "Elena, are you okay. You seem a bit tense."

I look over to her, and control myself to where I'm relaxed before responding, "Yeah, thanks for being concerned, but I'm good." She simply just smiles as a response and we return our gazes to our menus. A minute into it I look up and see Damon looking at me. I avert my gaze nervously back to my menu. Why am I acting this way? Sometimes life could be so confusing. The waitress comes over, and while she is taking our orders she is subtly flirting with Damon which is making me feel a bit angry.

She then turns to me and asks, "And what can I get for you?"

"The ratatouille...thanks." I say a bit harsher than I intended too, and the waitress seems a bit taken aback and a bit.. Sad? Why was she sad?

"O-okay. I'll be back with your order." She says before hurrying off and I feel really bad all the sudden. I can see Damon trying to push back a chuckle and I glare at him. Just then he slides over a note that the waitress handed him and I flip it over. My eyes widen with shock upon reading it.

'**I don't mean to be unprofessional, but could you write me that beautiful girl's number? I understand if you cannot, but I'd really appreciate it. -Kayla' **

I cover my face in embarrassment and guilt. I need to apologize to her when she shows up again. Why did I lash out at her again? Right, because I was… Jealous… It dawns upon me. I was jealous that she seemed like she was flirting with Damon. I needed to stop… I needed to leave. I can't think about him that way. I abruptly stand up.

"Are you okay, Elena?" Hellen asks me concern etched into her voice.

"Y-yeah, I'm just feeling a bit light headed. Am I allowed to return to the apartment to rest for a bit?" I ask.

"Of course, just as long as you're going to be okay until dinner with our new business partners." She responds.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Oh, also may you tell the waitress that I'm sorry that I snapped at her." I say and Hellen nods in response. I gather myself and before leaving I take once quick glance at Damon who appears a bit concerned. I look away quickly because just looking at him makes me feel like my whole world had been flipped upside down. I quickly scurried off and walked back to the apartment, not even bothering to enjoy the beauty of Paris. When I enter the apartment I plop down onto the couch with a sigh. I feel like a weight had been lifted off my chest now that I was away from Damon. After a minute of relaxing in the quiet solitude I hear the door open. I turn to see Damon and I spring up and back away in surprise."D-damon… w-what are y-you doing here?" I stutter avoiding eye contact.

"Are you avoiding me?" Damon asks and I feel my breathing get more rapid.

"W-what would make you t-think that?" I ask and I could feel Damon groan softly in frustration.

"Oh, I don't know, Elena. Maybe the fact that you're acting nervous around me, you won't make eye contact with me, and maybe it's the fact that last night we kissed." Damon says with an annoyed tone.

"No. You kissed me… and it cannot happen again." I say.

"Your blaming me? You did nothing to stop me."

"I was surprised, Damon. And you can't just kiss me without my consent!"

"So, what was the airplane ride then? Huh? What about that, Elena? Did that mean nothing to you?" Damon asks agrilly.

"Yes, I was on;y looking for comfort!" I yell back at him.

"So you're just using me… huh? Is that it?" Damon says a bit hurt and I freeze.

"N-no…" I say softly.

"Then what, Elena? What is it that you feel about me."

"Damon." I say tears spilling from my eyes. This is too much of him to ask me.

"No, Elena. The sooner you stop running from whatever is happening, the better." Damon says stepping forward towards me and I feel as if I can't breath. I just run. I run out the living room and onto the balcony for some fresh air. I can't do this right now. I can't do this to Flin. I need to stop. I then hear the door open and my eyes widen. I back away and turn to see Damon standing in front of the door.

I turn back around and say weakly, "Don't."

There is a moment of silence before Damon responds, "Why not?"

I feel my chest tighten. All of the reasons not to flood my mind, Flin. The wedding. He's my boss. Adultery. Just then as if uncontrollable all I can think about is Damon. Never let me go. Never let me go. With a cloudy mind I run over to Damon and kiss him. He kisses me back instantly and I feel butterflies in my stomach and heat rise to my cheeks at the feeling of his lips moving against mine. A couple seconds later we're bacon gup until my back hits a wall. I groan softly at the impact, but Damon's lips return to mine, distracting me from the pain. Then, his lips move to my neck, sending electric shocks throughout my body. I pull his head back to mine and kiss him. He pulls back for a second gazing into my eyes, I do the same. Instead of stopping this we both leaned back in and continue kissing. His hands move along the curves of my body, and I moan softly at the feeling. The kissing seems to continue for a few minutes, and all the sudden I feel my phone vibrate in my purse, breaking me from my transe. Oh no. What have I done. I take my phone out of my purse and see that the call is from Flin. I close my eyes in a cringe and when I opened them I can see Damon looking at me, as if curious about my next move. I press the answer button and bring it up to my ear never once breaking eye contact with Damon.

"Hello?" I ask.

"Elena, hey, how are you?" Flin asks. Damon leans in and start planting kisses on my neck and I can feel my vision clouding up again.

"G-good. I uh..h-how are y-you?" I ask and then bite my lip holding back a moan.

"Fine, but I wish I could be there with you." Flin says.

"Y-yeah." I all I manage to say while being distracted with Damon's lips on my jaw.

"Anyway, is Paris as beautiful as everyone says it is?" He asks.

Just then Damon finds my sweet spot in the conjunction of my jaw and my ear and my eyes roll into the back of my head and I flip my head back. "W-what?" I ask, not remembering what he said.

"Are you okay, Sweetie, you seem a bit distracted." Flin says and I try my best to focus.

"Y-yeah, I'm so-sorry, I f-feel a b-bit-." I'm cut off by a moan at Damon softly bites my sweet spot.

"What was that?" Flin asks and I panic.

"Uh, n-nothing. I'll call you later okay?" I ask hastily.

"Sure...love you." FLin says.

"...You too." Is all I respond with. For some reason I couldn't say the 'L' word with him. I hang up the phone and moe out of Damon's grasp. "Damon!" I say frustratedly.

"You seemed to enjoy it." Damon chuckles a little rasp to him velvety voice.

"That doesn't give you the right to do that!" I say.

"You kissed me. You have no excuse, Elena!" Damon says and I blush looking away from him.

"I-It was a mistake." I say meekly.

"What is? You kissing me, or you are having a hard decision for once in your life?" Damon asks angrily.

"All of it! All of this! Damon, I can't do this to him." I say.

"Tell him. Call of the engagement."

"Damon…"

"Elena, you know that what we have is so much more than what you and your fiancé have." Damon says stepping closer to me.

I place a hand on his chest to stop him and swallow before responding, "Damon… this is wrong. No matter what I feel for you, I can't leave him. It isn't right."

"It is right, Elena… you feel for me. You crave a love that consumes you… passion, and adventure." He steps closer to me and wrapped his hand around my back. "And even a little danger."

The temptation I feel to just give into what he says and fall deep into my feelings for him is intense, but at the moment my head speaks louder than my heart. "No. I'm going to leave this trip early. Please, let me go. I'll do all my work from the office. I can't accept your offer, Damon." I say stepping out of his grasp. I look behind for one second to see him looking completely broken. I swallow the guilt and walk away and into my room. Once I'm inside I allow myself to cry. I sob harder than I ever had before, and feel as if a piece of my heart is gone. Lost forever. Never to be returned again. Never let me go. Let me go. My mind and heart bicker, but it's ultimately the choice to do what's right, that weighs over. I'm in my room for hours crying until I hear a knock on my door.

"It's done, you leave at 6:00 A.M. tomorrow. I'd leave the apartment around 4:00." Damon's harsh tone cuts straight into my soul.

As I hear the steps head away from my door I softly say, "I'll never love again."

**Author's Note: …**

**I hate myself too, you don't have to tell me. Luckily the story isn't done, so please don't destroy your computer because of me. I'm sorry for all the frustration I must be putting upon all of you, but I assure you it'll be worth it in the end. I appreciate all of you guys support, and I hope you all have wonderful days. I'm sorry. -Amara**


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